DIY Electronics, Tools, and other Projects.

[Strider]

Well, it's finally in an enclosure. It's not the prettiest, I'll rework it in the future, but it works! ?

I have it wired up for the 2 channel scope, 2 channel logic analyzer, and the signal generator, don't need the other functions.

I ran into an issue with it not wanting to calibrate, so I reached out to the boards developer, and after some back and forth he figured out it was a software issue that was overwhelming the Pi's CPU. A couple days later he released a fix, I updated the package, and now it's working like a charm. For the cheap "tool" that it is, it seems to work well. It will never replace the real tools it's emulating, but for $29 I have found it useful for my simple circuits.

[Strider]

? Global chip shortage SUCKS. ?

It really does affect just about everything...

So, I'm trying to move away from Arduino units for the final versions of my projects, and just use the ATMega328 or Tiny85 itself, along with my own support circuitry. Sadly, the Mega328 is nearly impossible to find, I can't find one in stock from any seller I trust. There are some Tiny85's, and I did order some, but they are drying up fast and overpriced, costing as much as a Mega328.

I found some Mega328's on Sparkfun, a name I know but have yet to buy from, and they had 31 in stock @ $2.95 each. Was going to order 10. At checkout they wanted to charge $14 shipping, seemed like a lot for 10 small microchips. So I dropped it to 5 chips, still $14 shipping. Bumped it up to 20, still $14 shipping. These things cost pennies to ship, so it seemed off. So I fired off an email to them asking if the quote was correct, and figured I would run it past my wife about getting 20 if the shipping stays the same. Then I would have plenty to use for quite some time. By the time I got back home (I was at work), they were sold out. So, back to square one. Unless I want to buy them at hugely inflated prices from Amazon scalpers, and I don't, so I am out of luck for now I guess. My bad for questioning shipping. lol

I did manage to pick up some Tiny85's (x10), and some SN74HC595N 8-Bit counter shift registers to extend the output capabilities of the Tiny85, and that will work for some things, but the Mega328 is what I really need. I guess for now I'll stick to using the several Arduino Nano units I have lying about.

While doing all my shopping around, I picked up some NE555P timers, some DIP IC sockets, a programming shield for the Arduino UNO (for when I do get my hands on some Mega328s), and a Tiny AVR Programmer for the Tiny85s, just to keep things simple. Along with various other stuff. So not a total loss. Though I ended up paying more for the Tiny85's than I wanted, at $2 each and $10 shipping, still, they were one of the cheapest I could find in stock. Packs of 5 are going for $19 on Amazon, so it's still cheaper than going that route.

I just can't wait for this stupid chip shortage to end! ?

 

Edit: Well, after a TON of searching, I broke down and ordered 4 Mega328P-PU chips off eBay for just over $5 each, so about double their per-shortage price. It was the best price I could find, the only ones I could find honestly.

Got them from a US seller with good feedback, so we will see if they're any good. They're supposed to be preloaded with the Uno bootloader, so that saves me a step, maybe. It should hold me over.

Most licensed sellers say they wont have stock until February or March 2023, a few say June 2022. Whenever it ends up happening, I'm going to order about 20 of them. lol

[Strider]

I got bored ... and decided I wanted to make a simple, no fuss, continuity tester. You know, for those times you don't want to mess around with your multimeter? Just a single simple tool to do a simple easy job.

OK... I wanted to test out the AVR programmer, get some practice working with these chips, and practice making labels before my wife and I invest in some new toys. So I picked something simple and that I would actually, maybe, get some use out of.

What I ended up with was a Tiny85 powered tester that simply plays a tone when continuity is detected. It has simple toggle power switch becasue I'm old and like toggles! Though not really necessary, becasue it will go to sleep after 60 seconds of inactivity anyway. Using a 3V button-cell, it has a sense voltage of 5mV, so I'm happy with it.



 

The toys I'm talking about are an Ender 3 3D Printer and Cricut machine for doing custom vinyl cuts (not sure what one we're getting yet).

I want both for making small custom enclosures, parts, and labels. My wife wants them for the custom jewelry she's making along with some of the resin projects she's working on. So a win-win. lol

It's good to have hobbies. ?

Oh, and if I needed more stuff.... Decided to pick up a 5-pack of Digisparks. ?

[Strider]

I "upgraded", just ... becasue. Hantek 6022BE.

Openhantek running on Win 10 and Ubuntu on the Atomic Pi. It actually runs better on Ubuntu and the AP than my Windows desktop. ?

Now to get it up and running on the Pi 4. I love the wide ranging support. Still a cheap scope, but I've been looking at it a long time, but it was Adrian's videos that finally pushed me to pull the trigger. For $65, I'm happy, and so it my wallet. I have the Labrador to play with and the Hantek to actually use for my simple projects and vintage troubleshooting.

[Tatwi]

That's actually really neat. I didn't know they made scopes that connected to a computer for their interface/screen. Whoah... it's been 30 years since I used an oscilloscope! Teehee... I once tried convince my wife to go on a 14 or so hour drive to buy this super cool looking old scope that still worked, "just because". Let me see if I can find a picture...

 

Something like that. Definitely less practical than your garden variety square screened scope or the nifty tool you have, but it sure would look great on one's desk! ?

... There's something to be said about having real knobs and buttons to use... Life itself is a tactile experience and I think we really miss out on some of that in today's tech world; if you're not tinkering with circuit stuff, you're generally just tapping a smooth screen, clacking a keyboard, and swooshing a mouse. Console style gamepads and desktop keyboards are still full tactile experiences, but they lack the visual aspect of tuning a system by turning knobs and flicking switches while watching dials and screens... That old tech from the 50s-70s was really built for people to touch and feel, to connect with in a practical manner.

I keep a rotary phone on my desk, "just because". It's not hooked up to anything. I just like it.

[Strider]

I'm a huge fan of good old buttons, switches, and knobs.  ?

Most of these USB scopes are relativity cheap becasue just about everything is done in software on your computer. No buffer memory, no hardware triggering, etc. The "scope" literally just captures the data and sends it to the software for absolutely everything else if I'm not mistaken. So they are obviously not as good as a "real" scope, but they get the job done, and are easy on the wallet. For my needs, its more than good enough, even with it's limitations, and  it fits my limited workspace!

This is the video that got me to finally buy one...

 

[martinot]

I have two oscillicopes from Keysight (their cheapest series); one 2 ch 200 MHz scope and one 4 ch 70 MHz scope. Both have build in AWG which I like and think is very useful.

InfiniiVision 1000 X‑Series Oscilloscopes | Keysight

For DMM I have several Fluke hand helds (industry standard) and Brymen (just as good as Fluke, but for 1/3 of the price). I also have a current clamp from Fluke and one from Appa.

Brymen – BRYMEN Technology Corporation

For small portable pocket DMM I have a Sanwa PM300 and a Kyoritsu KEW 1019R. Love them both! ?

For soldering I have an old Ersa and an even old Pace solder station, but they will soon be complemented with a new JBC CDEB.

CDEB - Soldering-Assistant Station (jbctools.com)

 

 

[martinot]

On 4/25/2022 at 6:42 PM, martinot said:

I have two oscillicopes from Keysight (their cheapest series); one 2 ch 200 MHz scope and one 4 ch 70 MHz scope. Both have build in AWG which I like and think is very useful.



InfiniiVision 1000 X‑Series Oscilloscopes | Keysight



 

 

 

 

[Cyber]

On 1/9/2022 at 9:53 PM, Strider said:

Well, I broke down and ordered one. This one to be exact. They mostly all seem to be the same design and work the same, so we will see.

Did you received it? Do you have a review?

[Strider]

On 5/1/2022 at 3:51 AM, Cyber said:

Did you received it? Do you have a review?

Sorry for the late reply, I completely missed it. ?

Yes I did, but no review. I'll just be adding it to my list of tools on my blog.

The "Velleman" one I originally ordered arrived damaged, they replaced it. Arrived broken again, this time I did a refund and went with a different one. Not sure if if was defects, packing, shipping, but twice in a row is a sign telling me to try something different. lol

I ended up with this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2TTQEE/

So far, it's holding up fine, I've used it about 6 or 7 times. The base is weighted metal, the arms and grippers are plastic, but as long as you don't wrench on it like a madman it should last. I like it, much easier than helping hands for a lot of things.